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Germs in the School Room

about theamount of time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice, suggests PaulHorowitz, MD, the medical director of pediatric clinics at Legacy Health Systemin Portland, Ore." We can't stress this enough when it comes to keepingcolds and flu away," he says. "Avoid eating or touching your eyes,nose, and mouth without washing your hands first."

Verify the hand-washing policy of staff.

For many families, daycare is essential. When choosing a facility, be sure tocheck into the daycare facility's hand-washing policy, the actual hand-washingpractices, and the availability of sinks, says Neil Schachter, MD, medicaldirector of respiratory care at Mount Sinai in New York City, and the author ofThe Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu. It really works. Researchout of Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, Ind., found that instructionalprograms on germs and hand washing in childcare centers reduced the spread ofinfectious diseases during peak cold and flu season.

Send your child equipped with mechanical pencils.

Studies have shown that the dirtiest thing in any classroom is the communitypencil sharpener, says Charles Gerba, PhD, a professor of microbiology atUniversity of Arizona in Tucson. "Pack mechanical pencils in your child'sschool supplies so he or she doesn't have to use it."

Wipe down common surfaces with disinfectant.

"In a school setting these include drinking fountain handles, water faucetsin sinks, light switches, paper towel dispensers, handles, and doorknobs,"says Horowitz. "Some of the surfaces are neglected and we don't appreciatewhat [germs] live on there and how long they can live." he says. Ask tomake sure surfaces are being cleaned regularly. Research presented at a mediabriefing by the American Medical Association showed that nearly 50% of thoseteachers surveyed report they regularly clean and disinfect their classroomsthemselves.

Carefully wipe down desks and keyboards.

Research done at the University of Arizona found that desk surfaces, computerkeyboards, and computer mouses ranked high in levels of five bacteria:

E. coli

Klebsiella pneumonia

Streptococcus

Salmonella

Staphylococcus aureus

But when office workers were told to clean their desk with disinfectingwipes, bacterial levels were reduced by 99%. "Send your child to schoolwith disposable wipes so he or she can clean off their desk at the end of theday and before and after lunch if they eat at their desk," Gerba says.

Send functional tissues to school with your child.

"The latest trend in tissues are virucidal tissues," says Schachter.These tissues prevent the spread of viruses around the house because it killsthem when you blow your nose." Encourage you child to cover his nose ormouth when sneezing or coughing and after using a tissue, throw it away."Also, sneeze into tissues and cough into your elbow instead of your hands."When you sneeze or cough into your hands, you could easily spread germswhen you touch a surface," he says.

Don't borrow crayons.

"Have your own box of crayons as all inanimate objects passed form oneperson to another are potentially germ carriers," Schachter says. "Eachchild should have their own art supplies if possible."

Make sure community toys are clean.

"You can wash stuffed animals in the washing machine weekly during cold andflu season," Schachter says. "Plastic toys such as Legos can be washedwith soap and water and board game surfaces can be wiped down with disinfectingwipes." Horowitz adds: "Kids are touching everythig including parts oftheir own body that may be contaminated and then touching toys or mouthing themand then sharing them with playmates."

Hang your backpack in the restroom.

"The bottom of women's purses are pretty bad," says Charles Gerba, PhD,a professor of microbiology at University of Arizona in Tucson. "About 25%have fecal bacteria because women put it down on the toilet floor inrestroom," he explains. "Encourage your son or daughter to hang theirbackpack on a hook if they take it to the school restroom."

Ask if the teacher can use a special air filter to keep airclean.

"High-efficiency particulate-arresting (HEPA) filters, available atdiscount drug stores for about $40 to $100, can remove 99.97% of the pollen,dust, animal dander, and even bacteria from the air," Schachter says.Suggest one to the teacher if it is not already being used. "Properventilation is also important, so open windows and doors to let fresh air inand circulate the air whenever possible."